Hari Lualhati
Cape Town, South Africa
harilualhati.yolasite.com
@harilualhati
Hari’s art can be found on pages 16 & 17 in issue 51.
HARI LUALHATI: BIOGRAPHY
Hari Lualhati is a full-time artist who is permanently based in Cape Town, South Africa. She prefers her latest artworks to be called as “SOULWORKS” because they are a direct connection to her soul. Her figurative subject being accompanied by animals and nature shows that we are all connected. Hari’s soulworks harmoniously combine impressive realism with fine details, amazing expressionism with her techniques and symbolism that unfolds a story behind elements used. Her soulworks are mirrors of golden life lessons, Aha Moments and realizations that the artist aims to preserve and share to others. These soulworks are not only a delight to the eyes, their messages immediately connects to the heart and leaves an unforgettable experience.
Hari was born on February 12, 1985. At a very young age, she already showed interest in art. She has been a consistent school representative for Art Competitions and consistently been awarded as “Artist of the Year” during high school.
Year 2006, Hari finished her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman – with honors (Cum Laude). She worked in Philippines, Hong Kong, Shenzhen China, and South Africa as a graphic artist, product designer, illustrator, and painter.
Hari’s received numerous awards from different International Art Competitions including: 1st Place – HelvetArt International Swiss Art Competition- 2022 (Switzerland), 1st Place – Malaysia International Art Competition 2022, Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon 2014 – 2017 (USA), Marco’s Art Emporium- Return to Realism Art Competition 2019– 1st Place (South Africa), Drawing From Observation Art Competition 2019 – 1st Place (South Africa), TheArtList’s 2nd Place Winner 2020 (USA), Art Olympia 2019 (Japan), Figurativas Competition 2017 (Spain), World Wide Kitsch Competition (USA), Beautiful Bizarre Magazine – Artist on the Rise Award 2017 (Australia), The Palm Art Award Certificate of Excellence (Germany), Living Portrait Master – 2nd Prize 2017 (South Africa), “Arte Dinamica” from Grifio Art Gallery 2016 (Rome), American Art Awards 2014 – 1st Place (USA).
Hari has been featured and been on the cover of different Art Magazines and Publications: Michelangelo Magazine – August 2020 Issue (South Africa), South African Artist Magazine – November 2019 Issue, Cover of VIVAMag 2019 (Italy), Infected by Art Volume 8 Year 2020 and Volume 7 Year 2019 (USA), Your Best Painting Art Book published by European Museum of Modern Art and Artelibre 2020 (Spain), Marvelous Art Magazine 2020 (Turkey), ARS-MAGISTRIS Magazine Art 2020 (Italy), International Realism Catalogue ARC(USA), GuiadeArte Leonardo (Spain), Wall Street International 2018, Into The Void 2017 (Ireland), PSIKEART 2017 (Turkey), Contemporary Art Collection Book 2016 (Rome), Cover of Close to Art 2014 (France), Miroir 2014 (USA), Cover of INSIGHT MAGAZINE for year 2013 and 2017.
Year 2015, Hari has been selected to represent South Africa in one of the largest juried exhibitions of contemporary art in Europe with Chief Curator Wolfgang Gramm – the NordArt Exhibition in Germany. Year 2018, she had an exhibition in the prestigious MEAM – European Museum of Modern Art where her artwork has been sold to a private collector in Europe. Her artworks have been exhibited in Philippines, HongKong, South Africa, Italy, Germany, Armenia, Ukraine, Spain, Prague, and USA.
HARI LUALHATI: ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I prefer to call my art pieces as my “SOULWORKS” because for me, they are not just art- works, they are souls represented in art. They serve as a direct connection to my soul and represent matters that value to me.
The concept of my soulworks revolves around powerful life lessons, aha moments and re- alizations I’ve gained from life. These are those “Moments” that made huge impact in my life and have taught me to be a better version of myself. I would like to preserve and pass these lessons and inspirations to others through the best way I can and that is through my soulworks. I believe that we are all connected as human beings and that we share the same emotions. I hope that the audience could see part of themselves through my soul- works and hopefully connect to them and inspire them to have a more positive outlook in life.
The form of the human body, specifically the naked body, has always fascinated me. I find it elegant, classic and very relatable. I love the sincerity and raw beauty that a naked figure represents. These qualities inspire me to use nude figure as my subject matter. I also incorporate elements of nature and animals to the human figure to show that we are all connected.
I mostly work with oil on canvas and I also draw using graphite on paper. The creative pro- cess starts with conceptualization, which is an import part for me as I believe that a good concept will serve as a good foundation for my soulwork. Once I’ve visualized my idea,
I start painting or drawing. More often than not I find myself lost in my art as I go with the flow of passion running through my paintbrush or my pencil. I call it: “Love made visible through Art.”
My style can be considered as a marriage of realism, expressionism and symbolism. I love painting my subject as realistic as possible because for me it holds the most significant message of the piece so it must be recognizable to the eyes of the viewers (no matter if they are an expert in art or not). It is usually at the background of the painting that I tried to be as expressive as I can with the use different bold and playful brush strokes to create balance. The profound visual narrative and the techniques used aims to reveal the invisi- ble within the visible. I also use a lot of symbolism to my soulworks as I find it to be an effec- tive and interesting way of telling stories. I want my soulworks to not only be beautiful but also to tell meaningful stories.
Quality is one of my top priorities. I never rush when I paint and give it the time and atten- tion it needs until it speaks to my heart, until I know that I’ve given it my best.
Though I take into consideration the use of different techniques, I value more the feelings that I put into my works. I paint and draw with my heart. For me, a soulwork is successful if it can make anyone who would look at it feel the emotion that it’s supposes to give. It’s like delivering a clear message by touching the hearts of the viewers.
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